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PeaceHealth upgrades cancer radiation therapy at Sedro-Woolley hospital

Hospital emphasizes importance of ‘keeping care close to home’

Dr. Nicholas Muff, a pioneering radiation oncologist who founded the cancer center at United General Hospital in 1975, examines the newly installed high-precision linear accelerator June 12 in Sedro-Woolley. (Isaac Stone Simonelli/Cascadia Daily News)
By Isaac Stone Simonelli Enterprise/Investigations Reporter

SEDRO-WOOLLEY — PeaceHealth United General Cancer Center treated its first patient with its newly installed, high-precision linear accelerator at the end of last month, marking an increase in capabilities at the rural hospital as it provides advanced radiation therapy treatment in the region.

“I am not aware of any other critical access hospital that has both medical and radiation oncology,” said Chris Johnston, chief administrative officer at United General. “This cancer center has been a calling card for our community, and they continue to support it.”

The $12 million investment in the construction of the specialty room and advanced technology at the rural hospital is a testament to PeaceHealth’s efforts to “keep care close to home,” multiple speakers said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, June 12.

“We are so deeply grateful to each of you and to the cancer center for what you offer to everyone who walks through that door,” said John Scott Lee, a cancer survivor from Marblemount who was treated at United General. “I get to live in this beautiful world a while longer because of you.”

John Scott Lee, second from left, a cancer survivor from Marblemount who was treated at United General, stands in the crowd at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the linear accelerator. (Isaac Stone Simonelli/Cascadia Daily News)

The cancer center, founded by pioneering radiation oncologist Dr. Nicholas Muff in 1975, is now capable of providing 99% of treatments that would require radiation, said Dr. Lisa Hazard, who is now the oncologist at the hospital.

“It’s a tribute to his dedication and ingenuity that he was able to bring this very complex technology to a rural community,” Hazard said of Muff’s legacy.

The TrueBeam improves the accuracy and treatment of tumors that are often difficult to treat surgically, such as those in the brain, lung, spine, prostate or elsewhere, stated a PeaceHealth news release.

The high-energy X-ray beam can be adjusted to fit the exact shape of a patient’s tumor, providing submillimeter precision, killing cancer cells by damaging their DNA, Dr. Hazard said.

Dr. Lisa Hazard, radiation oncologist at United General, speaks with Dr. Nicholas Muff. (Isaac Stone Simonelli/Cascadia Daily News)

Without the new device, UnitedHealth would still need to send patients to Bellingham for brain metastases, a situation where millimeter accuracy is needed to target cancer that has spread to the brain. It also allows the center to better target lung cancer, which was challenging with previous equipment, as the position of the tumor changes as people breathe.


“If a patient couldn’t hold their breath … they would have to send them up to Bellingham,” Hazard said.

When Lee found out that he needed radiation therapy, he was relieved he didn’t have to go further than Sedro-Woolley for care because he needed to spend 20 minutes a day with the radiation machine for 39 days in a row. 

Other patients have terminal diagnoses.

“They know that their time is precious, and that’s the most important time to be close to your family and close to your friends and in your own community and in your own home,” Dr. Hazard said.

United General cancer center unveils its newly installed high-precision linear accelerator. The TrueBeam improves the accuracy and treatment of tumors that are often difficult to treat surgically, such as those in the brain, lung, spine and prostate. (Isaac Stone Simonelli/Cascadia Daily News)

In 2021, the PeaceHealth Foundation was presented with the proposal to start a campaign for the linear accelerator project. The original goal was to raise $500,000, but it was met so quickly that it was moved to $1 million, which was also accomplished.

“You can think of philanthropy as being the down payment of any big project that happens at PeaceHealth,” said Amber Asbjornsen, the chief philanthropy officer for PeaceHealth’s Northwest network. “Usually, when philanthropy is behind a project, it helps give it the green light to get the construction going.”

Trico, the construction company that built the dedicated vault for the new linear accelerator radiation therapy system, prepares to pour the thick concrete walls of the chamber in December. (Photo courtesy of Trico)

Isaac Stone Simonelli is CDN’s enterprise/investigations reporter; reach him at isaacsimonelli@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 127.

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